News: North Carolina National Guard, NCNG welcomes the 630th CSSB home

The 630th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) celebrated their welcome home ceremony at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Hickory, N.C., on March 14, 2014. The 630th CSSB traces its history and lineage to the organization and federal recognition of headquarters detachment and combat train, 3rd battalion, 117th Field Artillery on April 28, 1923.

HICKORY, N.C. - The North Carolina National Guard’s 630th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion hosted a welcome home ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Hickory, N.C. on Friday, March 14, 2014.

The unit, composed of 50 soldiers, returned from a deployment in support of the Multinational Observer mission responsible for maintaining the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel. The MFO is an independent international organization, specifically created to compliance of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty of 1979.

The observer mission began in 1982 and is also supported by other nations such as Canada, Australia, France, Italy and Hungary, just to name a few.

Members from the 630th were greeted their family members and other supportive members of the Hickory community to include the Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid, Commissioner Chair, Kitty Barnes, and Hickory Chief of Police, Tom Adkins to name a few.
The Official party that spoke included Brig. Gen. Kenneth Beard, Assistant Adjutant General for Sustainment, and other NCNG leaders who honored Capt. Mitchell Rick, 630th CSSB Commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

“I want to reiterate how glad I am to have you home” Beard replied.

The 630th CSSB was responsible for maintaining sustainment assistance of logistical supply, finance, postal operations medical care and life support for 32 remote sites which supported MFO elements to uphold the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel. Soldiers of the 630th accomplished many missions, ranging from transporting supplies well over 93,000 miles, which consisted of hauling thousands of tons of water, rations and fuel to various locations on the border of Israel and Egypt.

“These men and women, essentially they did it all” said Beard during his speech “truly notable.”

In addition, the unit managed a central issue facility warehouse inventory valued at $815,000 and successfully operated a finance office responsible for maintaining over $500,000 worth of U.S. currency for disbursements and other transactions. These are but just a few of the unit’s accomplishments.

The 630th has been deployed numerous times; once in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm and again in 2006 to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where the unit earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation.

“Basically what I want to do is thank my soldiers” Rick said excitedly during his speech “I want to thank the families; to us our family is our hero. It was a proud honor to have served with you.”